The Evangelical Medical Union and the Christian Nursing Group of Spain, along with the Spanish Evangelical Alliance, have published a document with health recommendations for the churches to face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the midst of the second wave of the disease that is devastating Europe, the document joins the prevention recommendations given by the authorities, emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and encourages Christians to exercise their trust in God and his sovereignty over every situation.

The manual seeks to “anticipate the challenges that we have to live as a church, and to be prepared to help others”, through a series of measures.

It emphasizes “what we can do to take care of ourselves, to prevent illness or to have the least possible consequences. Spreading this knowledge, we will help others to take care of their health and will have a greater positive impact on the community”.

“Fortunately we know that God, our Father, is the Lord of the universe. Everything is under His control and nothing goes unnoticed. The Scriptures show us where our trust and security as believers lies”, it stresses in the introduction.

A new disease

The coronavirus pandemic is hitting around the world and has become a global challenge, also from a medical point of view. That is why the document presents the most recent research regading the reasons for contagion, the most affected groups, etc.

“Since we do not know how long it will take to have a vaccine, our best option and individual and community responsibility is frequent hand hygiene, wearing masks and maintaining social distance”, the authors recommend.

“Witnesses of Jesus”

The document proposes 5 objectives to “take care of our health and be witnesses of Jesus in these times”.

First, “to keep our spirituality alive through God's presence in our lives. In order to achieve this, it is key to “pray for all those involved in the pandemic: patients, health care and other sectors workers, government officials and ourselves”.

“In addition to prayer we will rely on Scripture, no matter the circumstances,. This remains our travel guide” it adds.

The second objective is “to have an helping attitude to detect and respond to the needs of others”, always “with humility and compassion, being aware of our strengths and weaknesses, following Jesus' teaching on serving others”.

Furthemore, the authors suggest that “when physical presence is not possible, emotional and spiritual connection will be sought through technology”.

Thirdly, the manual encourages to “be careful with what enters our mind", through "dosing and selecting what we see and hear, in order to avoid stress and anxiety that disrupt our immune system”.

“It is important to avoid and not contribute to the spread of rumors without scientific evidence”, it says.

Healthy eating and routines

The fourth objective is to “establish healthy routines and comply with them”. These include “physical exercise, ventilation of the house, going for a walk outdoors, and finding time to rest and have fun", because all of this “helps to maintain health”.

Finally, they propose “taking care of our diet", with “a varied, balanced and sufficient diet that improves our health and our immune system”.

The manual also gives guidelines for a healthy diet, “with the right proportion of fats, carbohydrates and proteins”.

“The Word of God exhorts us to leave our anxiety in Him”

At the end of the guide, evangelical doctors and nurses warn that the pandemic “highlights human fragility but also gives us the opportunity to convey the hope we have”,

“Stress and anxiety are bad for health and the word of God exhorts us many times to leave our anxiety and our worries in Him and to live rejoicing in God. We can only do this if our trust in Him is absolute”, it concludes.

Evangelical psychologists published a ‘survival manual’

Last April, over 50 Spanish psychologists who share a common evangelical Christian faith, also published a  60-page guide with 132 tips based on the Bible “to bring light to our lives and shows us the path to follow in the darkest moments”.

“Christ shows us that we can and should learn to live differently in the middle of a crisis: in a way that allows us to grow and go deeper in our faith in God, in whom we trust for salvation and who is in control of every situation (even this one!)”, the guide says.